Meeting+Minutes

toc

August 31, 2010
Meeting came to order with all members present. The PLC welcomed its new member, agreed to endorse last year's list of norms, and agreed to meet on the third Tuesday of the month, at 2:30 in E-101

Group Members shared individual goals for the year, and the following themes emerged:
 * Grouping Strategies
 * Differentiation
 * Networking Outside of the Classroom
 * Formative Assessment
 * Grading Standards

Members agreed to pilot a new strategy-sharing tool through the PLC's wikispace. This tool is based on an embedded GoogleDoc Presentation, where PLC members (and invited guests) share their ideas related to the above strategies. They would condense their ideas into one "slide", with relevant text, pictures, diagrams, and links as appropriate.

The PLC engaged in an extensive discussion about iCal expectations, centering around the value of publishing and subscription. The idea of training students to use the "To Do" feature of iCal seemed like a good solution that would engage students in managing their deadlines, while retaining the ability of others to find accurate information about assignments and due dates. These ideas were then shared with Mr. Bauer.

January 19, 2010
Meeting came to order at 2:30. Present: SC, SH, JK, JS, PF, CK, LC, RD. Absent: PP

We discussed the topic of "struggling students". Here is a sampling of comments:
 * "Seniors: motivation; distraction of laptop
 * "Ninth Grade Honors: increased workload, staying afloat; adding accountability quizzes; immediate rewards needed; less formal work, more less formal
 * "OK w/ rote work, but not with more analytic demands
 * "even with upper-class; freshmen can't do as quickly
 * "still aren't getting the concept behind the project
 * "Honors is not an honors (rigor; time to process=change in pace; reading speed=gets behind)
 * "Discipline to read at home
 * "Higher-order assignments don't give "credit" as easily as rote assignments
 * "More kids are not doing their work; How do you have a class discussion?
 * "Move them to the CP level...
 * "Mix... Feel like they are all lost, sometimes because peers are lost... Apathy
 * "Asked to have no deadlines for anything... No urgency to hand it in...
 * "Don't want to do anything...
 * "Lots of things happening at once
 * "Budget problems and morale
 * "Last year, laptop lessons were special. This year, laptops are theirs

We discussed strategies that can be effective. Here are some suggestions:
 * Put your macbooks away; "not your right"
 * Meet more one-on-one--serious time demands
 * "Academic Remediation" insistence
 * Supervised Study
 * Regrouping students
 * Insist on turning something in
 * More assignments to average grades
 * Choices in assignments
 * Reality testing outside of UM

11/03 Inservice

 * Hardware Management OK!
 * iHelp no worse than Nurse
 * Creative Projects
 * Overcome initial reluctance
 * Student Self-organization
 * Volume of Student Work
 * Paper, email, robots
 * Record class? allowed? consent?
 * Notebook Checks?

September 2, 2009
Meeting came to order at 8:20. Present: SC, SH, JK, PP, JS, PF, CK, LC, RD. Absent: None

We conducted our "Summer in Review" using an online discussion board.

We reviewed our Group Norms and Goals, and agreed to leave them as they appear on this wikispace.

We discussed the One-to-One Initiative and shared our hopes and concerns. They are summarized in the image below, which also links to the actual text.

We shared ideas for digital learning and managing classroom issues, and spent some time setting up individual projects.

We postponed decision on future meeting times, pending analysis of department meeting dates.

April 21, 2009
Meeting came to order at 2:35. Present: SC, PP, SH, LC, JK, JS, CK. Absent: RD (on leave), PF.

We agreed to hold our next meeting on Tuesday, 5/19, at 2:40 in E-101.

We visited the UMAHSPLC wikispace to review the summer technology offerings for the Exchange Day, and left comments on the discussion page where appropriate.

We shared classroom projects we have tried since our last meeting. Many teachers reported trying digital alternatives to traditional assignments (examples: animated cartoons and podcasts in place of formal essays). Discussion also focused on some of the challenges involved in digital submission of assignments. Teachers also discussed some of the implications of a one-to-one program for teachers who have not had frequent access to laptops in the past.

We agreed to place three items on the agenda for the next PLC meeting: 1) When do digital assignments offer advantages over traditional assignments? When are traditional methods more appropriate?

2) What are the issues involved in digital note-taking for students? Should students always have the choice of digital vs. pencil/paper notebooks? Should teachers insist on one method or the other? What management issues are involved in this decision?

3) What digital course-management strategies are teachers using? How can we keep our announcements and resources organized and accessible for our students (and ourselves)? Will our current strategies need to be changed to fit a one-to-one environment?

Meeting concluded at 3:20.